Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - June 30, 1998
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Federal grant to aid 875 displaced timber workers

OLYMPIA - Gov. Gary Locke today announced that workers in five Western Washington counties who face losing their jobs due to federal limits on timber harvests will receive job training and other assistance under a $3.8 million grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor.

"The grant will assist dislocated workers obtain the tools they need to begin new jobs and build a brighter future for themselves and their families," said Locke.

The federal grant will serve 875 of the approximately 1,200 timber workers in Grays Harbor, Pacific, Lewis, Mason and Thurston counties who at risk of being dislocated. The money will be used to fund a comprehensive array of re-employment and retraining services. The training and support project will be administered by the Pacific Mountain Job Development and Training Department.

Occupations targeted by the state for which workers may be trained include health services; aerospace; tourism/hospitality; computer support specialists and programmers; health care; corrections officers; civil engineering; paralegal; building trades; maintenance repair; and automotive mechanics.

The grant is authorized under Title III of the federal Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). Under JTPA's Dislocated Worker Program, grants are provided to local programs that provide training and job-search help to workers who have been, or are about to be, laid off for reasons such as technological change, foreign competition, natural disasters or government actions.

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